Lyons Pens Motivational Book

By John Antonik

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November 26, 2012 05:00 PM

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Former Mountaineer wide receiver Wes Lyons has self-published a book titled “The Pursuit with Patience” that will be available online at Amazon.com beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 27, and can also be purchased locally at the WVU Book Exchange.

Lyons starred at Woodland Hills and was pursued by many schools before casting his lot with West Virginia University, where he became a four-year contributor from 2006-09. His best season came in 2009 for the late Bill Stewart when he caught 20 passes for 263 yards.

His four-year totals included 42 catches for 517 yards.

Wes later played one season in the Arena Football League and was also a member of the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers practice squads.

It was during his tenure with the Steelers when he really got the urge to tell his story. According to Lyons, the goal of this book is to teach and encourage people to follow their ambitions and he hopes to help them do so by telling his personal story growing up in Pittsburgh and later becoming a major college football player for a perennial Top 20 program.

“This is not just for kids but it’s a story for everybody,” Lyons explained. “It’s about the ups and downs of life and how I kept going forward when all of these things were happening to me.”

Lyons hopes that his effort will also encourage kids to read.

“It gives kids something that they are maybe more interested in reading than just books that are part of their normal curriculum,” Lyons said.

Lyons speaks frequently in Pittsburgh area schools and has been able to use his experiences as a well-known local football star to preach his message of the importance of gaining an education and becoming a well-rounded citizen.

“My pitch is about overcoming obstacles but I also want to preach education as well,” Lyons said. “Having an education is something that can never be taken away. Injuries happen in football. In some instances, maybe a coach doesn’t like you or he leaves, all of that stuff happens.

“It’s basically about the things that you have to do to get what you want.”

Lyons said he is hopeful that some of the Pittsburgh area schools districts will purchase his books and distribute them to its students.

“It’s not about the typical story that you read in school,” Lyons noted. “It’s an educational tool. I just want to get people to pick it up.”

Lyons decided to keep the length short (124 pages) to make sure it is appealing to non-readers. He also enlisted the help of Cincinnati coach Butch Jones (his wide receivers coach at WVU), New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and former Mountaineer teammate Pat White, among others.

The book retails for $13.99 on Amazon.com.

Lyons will be signing books at the WVU Book Exchange on Saturday, Dec. 1, prior to West Virginia’s regular season finale against Kansas.